Three years after the reinvigorating franchise entry Prey, director Dan Trachtenberg is back with Predator: Badlands. The standalone film opened in theaters on November 7, 2025, introducing new characters played by Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi. With new characters and a fresh story, it’s only fitting that Badlands alters its setting from Prey, which took place in the Great Plains in the 1700s.
With Predator: Badlands set on a distant alien planet in the future, fans can expect an entirely new environment and a distinct sense of world-building. Yet, once viewers spot a particular sequence involving a recognizable mountain range, fans of the multi-billion-dollar, Oscar-winning franchise The Lord of the Rings are sure to feel a sense of déjà vu. With that in mind, let’s take a look at where Predator: Badlands was filmed.
Where Was ‘Predator: Badlands’ Filmed?
20th Century Studios
Under its working title of Backpack, principal photography on Predator: Badlands commenced in August 2024 and wrapped in October. Although Trachtenberg brought back Prey’s cinematographer, Jeff Cutter, the filming location was very different from the 2022 film. Prey was filmed mainly on the Stoney Nakoda First Nation land in Alberta, Canada. With the indigenous storyline involving Naru (breakout star Amber Midthunder), filming in the area made logical narrative and thematic sense.
For Predator: Badlands, it was imperative that Trachtenberg and his crew find an otherworldly location that could mirror the distant alien planet on which the story takes place. To do so, the production settled on remote areas in New Zealand to film the vast outdoor landscapes. In addition to replicating New Zealand on studio sound stages, the cast and crew filmed on location in Auckland and Rotorua.
Auckland is one of the most modern and densely populated cities in New Zealand, known for its breathtaking architectural marvels and access to the sea and the mountains. Some scenes in Predator: Badlands were filmed on a sound stage in Auckland, including the wreckage of a Predator Yautja spaceship and a Weyland-Yutani research base. Outside of Auckland, the majority of the movie was filmed in New Zealand’s verdant wild, including the all-too-familiar-looking Rotorua.
Situated on the Bay of Plenty on New Zealand’s North Island, Rotorua is a picturesque city next to Rotorua Lake, known for its “unique geothermal activity” and its gorgeous Pink and White Terraces. According to Letterboxd, Trachtenberg was keen on filming in Rotorua because the geothermal and otherworldly forest atmosphere looks and feels so different from the jungle setting Predator is known for. With its rolling hills and volcanic activity, Rotorua is also much different from the American Great Plains, which set the stage for Prey.
‘Predator: Badlands’ Shares a Filming Location With ‘The Lord of the Rings’
20th Century Studios
Predator: Badlands was filmed in the same general areas as Peter Jackson’s landmark Lord of the Rings franchise. The epic Lord of the Rings franchise, adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien’s celebrated novels, grossed over $6 billion worldwide and won 17 Academy Awards, including a record-tying 11 for the final entry, The Return of the King.
Both Predator: Badlands and The Lord of the Rings trilogy were filmed near the Bay of Plenty outside Rotorua. Most significantly, Tongariro National Park was used in The Lord of the Rings to set scenes at Mount Doom, Black Gate, and Gollum’s Forbidden Pool. Elsewhere, the areas surrounding Hobbiton were filmed at Okahune, not far from Rotorua. With the region’s distinctly mountainous topography, those watching Predator: Badlands on the big screen are sure to recognize the Lord of the Rings’ landscapes.
Indeed, there’s one noticeable moment in Badlands when Thia and Dek run across a mountain to evade a clan of Predators. As if ripped right from a Lord of the Rings background, the sequence looks and feels like it was filmed in the same mountain range as Peter Jackson’s beloved adaptation. Even those unfamiliar with The Lord of the Rings’ mythical lore are sure to recognize the sprawling green mountainside and water below. It’s as if Thia and Dek took a side quest to The Shire really quickly before heading back home. Speaking about the decision to film in New Zealand, Trachtenberg told Letterboxd:
“I’ve always wanted to have a reason to come shoot something here. This has been a great reason to, just because the landscape here, I think, is… We are very accustomed to seeing it in a fantasy setting, and I wanted this to not feel as sci-fi as we usually see. We’ve seen a lot of Predator in the jungle.
There’s a more unique forestry landscape here that is this weird combination of bits of jungly things, but also forest and woodland, and redwoods exist here. It’s all just super-breathtaking. A huge drive for me is for it to feel like we’re in nature, in the wilds, and peppering that with alien elements as opposed to being all on a stage and it being entirely fabricated.”
If push came to shove for territorial dominance, the real question becomes: who would win in a fight between the Predator and Sauron? Leaving that up to debate for another time, fans can see a new and familiar setting with Predator: Badlands.
‘Predator: Badlands’ Is Now in Theaters
20th Century Studios
Written by Patrick Aison and Brian Duffield, Predator: Badlands is the ninth installment in the long-running sci-fi/horror franchise. Following his admirable work on the prequel, Prey, director Dan Trachtenberg has returned to helm Predator: Badlands. Fusing elements from the Alien/Predator crossover series, Badlands tracks Thia (Elle Fanning), a synthetic being created by the Weyland-Yutani corporation.
Upon landing on a remote extraterrestrial planet, Thia meets and forms an unlikely bond with Dek (Schuster-Koloamatangi), an adolescent Predator ostracized from his herd for being a runt. In a dual role, Schuster-Koloamatangi also portrays Dek’s father, Njohrr, a vicious Apex Predator who wants to see his son die.
As Njohrr sends his clan of predators to hunt and kill Dek, the young Predator turns to his older brother, Kwei (Mike Homik), to survive and learn how to hunt. Meanwhile, as seen with the fully AI synthetics in Alien: Earth, Thia uses her artificial intelligence to help Dek and Kewi fend off the attack and stay alive. Predator: Badlands is now playing in theaters.
Release Date
November 5, 2025
Runtime
107 minutes
Producers
Brent O’Connor, John Davis, Marc Toberoff, Dan Trachtenberg, Ben Rosenblatt
-
Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi
Dek / Father
You can view the original article HERE.
